ABSTRACT
Earlier wars had been about religion and territory; this one had its roots in class. Many in England had high hopes of the French Revolution. Tom Paine’s The Rights of Man sold nearly 200,000 copies. Pitt’s misgivings about the war with France did not save him from accusations of ‘Sending troops to be swamped where they can’t draw their breath, and buying a fresh load of taxes with death.’ Sport was among the principal amusements of the ‘enjoying classes’, and it often led to a conspicuous display of wealth that invited radicalism. Boxing was a fashionable aristocratic pursuit and an important symbol of British pluck which enjoyed a boom during the war years. The prize-ring was, however, in disrepute, not least because of deaths and injuries. Its survival owed much to the patronage of the great, including the Duke of Clarence, the future William IV.
